Help for sending your tobacco habit up in smoke

Have you promised yourself -- or your nagging loved ones -- that, one day soon, you will quit smoking?

Well, there's no time like the present!

Since Jan. 1, many longtime smokers have found our state's new smoking ban to be a very good incentive.

Here in Huntley, restaurant owners say that compliance has been good and they've had few complaints. If you witness a violation, the village of Huntley can help you report it with a new link on its home page, www.huntley.il.us.

You'll find a printable Smokefree Illinois Complaint Form that you can fill it out and mail to the Illinois Department of Public Health's Tobacco-Free Communities Program in Springfield.

I suppose you could also call the cops, but would they enforce it?

Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

Reuse, recycle: This is the week that you can start saving the environment, one brown bin at a time.

Last weekend, big brown plastic bins started showing up in Huntley driveways.

The village's new Single Wastehauler Program took effect March 3, and from now on MDC Environmental Services (formerly Marengo Disposal) will serve most households in Huntley. This week, each residence received an MDC 95-gallon "toter" for household garbage, and a yellow-lidded 65-gallon can for recyclables.

Now all trash must be set out for pickup by 6:30 a.m. each Monday.

Sun City homes and multi-unit apartment buildings are not included in the new contract, which costs each customer $16 a month. A $2.50 discount is offered for residents ages 55 and older if they agree to swap their 95-gallon can for a 35-gallon one.

That sounds just fine to some folks, who complain that those big brown bins don't fit inside their garage or shed.

If you don't qualify for the senior discount, you can still get a smaller can for no charge, but your monthly fee stays the same.

You may also use your old trash cans, and MDC's trucks will empty them. A price chart, a list of recyclables, and other information is provided at the Wastehauler link on the village's Web site, www.huntley.il.us, or by calling MDC at (815) 568-7274.

Join the fest: Volunteers for this year's Huntley Fall Fest will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Huntley Park District Rec Center.

Anyone who would like to help with the festival is invited to attend.

For details, visit: www.huntleyfallfest.org or call chairman Gary Minor at (847) 421-9191.

Save our soil: The Huntley Area Branch of the American Association of University Women will celebrate March, the month of shamrocks, with Carin' of the Green, a free program on how we can help save our open space and natural resources.

A panel discussion and public forum will be held from noon to 2:30 p.m. March 15 at the Lake in the Hills village hall, 600 Harvest Gate Drive. Presenters include Cassandra McKinney, water resource manager for McHenry County; Lisa Haderlein, executive director of the Land Conservancy of McHenry County; and Lenore Beyer Clow, policy director at Openlands, a Chicago-based open-space preservation group.

A public discussion will follow the program, and free exhibit space is offered to area agencies, businesses, or other interested groups.

For details, e-mail: huntleyaauw@ameritech.net or call (847) 669-0848.

Season, programs ending: It's a wrap for winter reading the Huntley Area Library's adult and teen reading programs -- Chill Out With Reading and Let It Snow! Read Cool Stuff will wrap up on Wednesday. Participants have five more days to turn in their reading logs, pick up completion prizes and get tickets for the big prize drawings.

• Call (847) 669-5386. Send your Huntley area news and events to huntleynews@ameritech.net or phone (847) 669-0848.